Inlet filter housing having components including portions of filter system that collectively form housing

ABSTRACT

An inlet filter housing includes a plurality of components that collectively form a complete filtering and conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluid along a housing flow path. Each component is fitted within an external structure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO) shipping container, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure. Each component includes operative structure of at least one of: a) only a portion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioning system, and b) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of the housing flow path.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to power generation equipment and, moreparticularly, to an inlet filter housing including a plurality ofcomponents. Each component includes operative structure of at least oneof: a) only a portion of an axial extent of the filtering andconditioning system, and b) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectionalarea of the housing flow path. Collectively, the components can beassembled on site to form a large, single inlet filter housing.

BACKGROUND

Power generation equipment, such as a gas turbine system, oftentimesmust be provided with filtered and conditioned air flow. The equipmentfor filtering and conditioning an air flow is housed within an inletfilter housing at the upstream end of the power generation equipment.The inlet filter housing encloses the operative structure for thefiltering and conditioning and creates a flow path for the air flow.Inlet filter housings are very large structures that vary in sizedepending on the size of the power generation equipment. For example,they can be 6 meters tall and 20 meters wide, but they can be muchlarger. The inlet filter housing can also vary widely in axial lengthdepending on the operative structure to be employed therein such as:weather protecting systems, various filter systems, temperature controlsystems, humidity control systems, monitoring equipment, and flowdirecting elements such as vanes or transition pieces.

Conventionally, the inlet filter housings are manufactured in parts andtransported to a power plant site where they are assembled. The partsare highly segmented and individually do not provide any portion of acomplete housing flow path, e.g., a portion of the cross-section or anaxial extent of the flow path. Depending on the size and complexity ofthe inlet filter housing, the number of shipments can be very large,e.g., greater than 25, which can make the transportation of the housingvery expensive. In addition, where parts of the inlet filter housing donot fit inside an International Organization of Standards (ISO) shippingcontainer or where they have exceptionally high weight, the complexityof the transportation and the costs can increase significantly. Thenumber of hours to assemble each inlet filter housing is very large,e.g., minimal 1300 hours.

One approach to address the situation employs a number of self-containedinlet filter housings that are each formed from an ISO shippingcontainer and that can be stacked together to collectively providesufficient air filtering. There are a number of disadvantages of thisapproach. Notably, because each inlet filter housing is self-containedwithin its own ISO shipping container, the shipping container createsits own separate but complete flow path. Hence, any large inlet filterhousing must include a number of individual filter housings. Thesegregation between adjacent containers prevents the creation of asingle flow path and creates complexity in operating the various filtersystems and, more significantly, in maintaining them. For example,changing filters requires accessing each housing separately, which istime consuming and expensive. The need to control a large number ofseparate filter housings also requires complex changes to currentcontrol systems, e.g., to monitor and control a number of small filterhousings rather than a single large filter housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

An aspect of the disclosure provides an inlet filter housing, including:a plurality of components that collectively form a complete filteringand conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluid along ahousing flow path, wherein each component is fitted within an externalstructure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO) shippingcontainer, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure; wherein eachcomponent includes operative structure of at least one of: a) only aportion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioning system, andb) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of the housing flowpath.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a gas turbine (GT) system,including: a turbine section; a combustor operatively coupled to theturbine section; a compressor operatively coupled to the combustor; andan inlet filter housing operatively coupled to the compressor, the inletfilter housing including: a plurality of components that collectivelyform a complete filtering and conditioning system for filtering andconditioning a fluid along a housing flow path, wherein each componentis fitted within an external structure of an International Organizationof Standards (ISO) shipping container, which provides a rectangularcuboid enclosure; wherein each component includes operative structure ofat least one of: a) only a portion of an axial extent of the filteringand conditioning system, and b) only a portion of a lateralcross-sectional area of the housing flow path.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of forming an inletfilter housing, including: fabricating a plurality of components thatcollectively form a complete filtering and conditioning system forfiltering and conditioning a fluid along a housing flow path, whereineach component is fitted within an external structure of anInternational Organization of Standards (ISO) shipping container, whichprovides a rectangular cuboid enclosure; wherein each component includesoperative structure of at least one of: a) only a portion of an axialextent of the filtering and conditioning system, and b) only a portionof a lateral cross-sectional area of the housing flow path; transportingthe plurality of components to a power plant site; and assembling theplurality of components at the power plant site to form the completefiltering and conditioning system for filtering and conditioning thefluid along the housing flow path.

The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solvethe problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this disclosure will be more readilyunderstood from the following detailed description of the variousaspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an inlet filter housing, accordingto embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an inlet filter housing, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top-down, cross-sectional view of an inlet filter housing,according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front perspective view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic rear perspective view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic rear perspective view of a transition piece of aninlet filter housing compartmentalized into components, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a component for an inlet filter housingwith wall portions of a shipping container removed, according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 9 is an exploded schematic view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to other embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 10 is an exploded, highly schematic view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to yet other embodiments ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 11 is an exploded, highly schematic view of an inlet filter housingcompartmentalized into components, according to yet other embodiments ofthe disclosure.

It is noted that the drawings of the disclosure are not necessarily toscale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of thedisclosure and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scopeof the disclosure. In the drawings, like numbering represents likeelements between the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As an initial matter, in order to clearly describe the subject matter ofthe current disclosure, it will become necessary to select certainterminology when referring to and describing relevant machine componentswithin an inlet filter housing or gas turbine system. To the extentpossible, common industry terminology will be used and employed in amanner consistent with its accepted meaning. Unless otherwise stated,such terminology should be given a broad interpretation consistent withthe context of the present application and the scope of the appendedclaims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that often aparticular part may be referred to using several different oroverlapping terms. What may be described herein as being a single partmay include and be referenced in another context as consisting ofmultiple parts. Alternatively, what may be described herein as includingmultiple parts may be referred to elsewhere as a single part.

In addition, several descriptive terms may be used regularly herein, andit should prove helpful to define these terms at the onset of thissection. These terms and their definitions, unless stated otherwise, areas follows. As used herein, “downstream” and “upstream” are terms thatindicate a direction relative to the flow of a fluid, such as theworking fluid through the turbine engine or, for example, the flow ofair through the combustor or coolant through one of the turbine'scomponent systems. The term “downstream” corresponds to the direction offlow of the fluid, and the term “upstream” refers to the directionopposite to the flow (i.e., the direction from which the floworiginates). The terms “forward” and “aft,” without any furtherspecificity, refer to directions, with “forward” referring to the frontor intake end of the inlet filter housing, and “aft” referring to therearward section of the inlet filter housing.

It is often required to describe parts that are disposed at differingradial positions with regard to a center axis. The term “radial” refersto movement or position perpendicular to an axis. For example, if afirst component resides closer to the axis than a second component, itwill be stated herein that the first component is “radially inward” or“inboard” of the second component. If, on the other hand, the firstcomponent resides further from the axis than the second component, itmay be stated herein that the first component is “radially outward” or“outboard” of the second component. The term “axial” refers to movementor position parallel to an axis. Finally, the term “circumferential”refers to movement or position around an axis. It will be appreciatedthat such terms may be applied in relation to the center axis of theturbine.

In addition, several descriptive terms may be used regularly herein, asdescribed below. The terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be usedinterchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are notintended to signify location or importance of the individual components.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof. “Optional” or “optionally” means that thesubsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur orthat the subsequently describe component or element may or may not bepresent, and that the description includes instances where the eventoccurs or the component is present and instances where it does not or isnot present.

Where an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged to, connected to, or coupled to the other elementor layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element orlayer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

As indicated above, the disclosure provides an inlet filter housingincluding a plurality of components that collectively form a completefiltering and conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluidalong a housing flow path. Each component is configured to fit within anexternal structure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO)shipping container, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure. Eachcomponent includes operative structure of at least one of: a) only aportion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioning system, andb) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of the housing flowpath. In this fashion, portions of inlet filter housing can bepre-fabricated and shipped to a final location where they are assembled.In contrast to conventional systems, the components are assembled tocreate a single inlet filter housing with a single flow paththerethrough. The shipping container of each component defines at mostonly a portion of the outer enclosure of the inlet filter housing, i.e.,with no interior walls remaining from the shipping containers segmentingthe housing flow path.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view, and FIG. 2 shows a side viewof an illustrative inlet filter housing 100 that can becompartmentalized per embodiments of the disclosure. Inlet filterhousing 100 may include any now known or later developed filter andconditioning systems 102 (FIG. 2) for filtering and conditioning a fluidflow, e.g., air, for an industrial application.

For purposes of description, inlet filter housing 100 is shown in FIG. 2for use with power generating equipment in the form of a gas turbine(GT) system 104. GT system 104 may include any now known or laterdeveloped combustion turbine system. In one embodiment, GT system 104 isa typical engine, commercially available from General Electric Company,Greenville, S.C. The present disclosure is not limited to any oneparticular GT system and may be implanted in connection with otherengines including, for example, the other HA, F, B, LM, GT, TM andE-class engine models of General Electric Company, and engine models ofother companies. GT system 104 may generally include a turbine section110, a combustor 112 operatively coupled to turbine section 110, acompressor 114 operatively coupled to combustor 112, and inlet filterhousing 100 operatively coupled to compressor 114. Compressor 114 may beoperatively coupled to gas turbine 110 through a sharedcompressor/turbine rotor 116.

In operation, air is drawn by compressor 114 through inlet filterhousing 100 where it is filtered and conditioned, prior to beingdirected from an outlet 117 of inlet filter housing 100 to GT system100. The compressed air is supplied to combustor 112. Specifically, thecompressed air is supplied to a fuel nozzle assembly (not separatelylabeled) that is integral to combustor 112. The fuel nozzle assembly isalso in flow communication with a fuel source (not shown) and channelsfuel and air to combustor 112. Combustor 112 ignites and combusts thefuel. Combustor 112 is in flow communication with turbine section 110through which gas stream thermal energy is converted to mechanicalrotational energy. Turbine section 110 is rotatably coupled to anddrives rotor 116. Compressor 114 also is rotatably coupled to rotor 116.While inlet filter housing 100 will be described herein for use withpower generating equipment, it is emphasized that it has applicabilityto other industrial applications required filtered and conditionedfluids.

FIG. 3 shows a top-down, cross-sectional view of inlet filter housing100, according to embodiments of the disclosure. Inlet filter housing100 may include any now known or later developed operative structuresfor filtering and/or conditioning fluid that passes therethrough. In oneembodiment, the fluid is air, but it may include a variety of otherfluids, e.g., gases, depending on the application other than a GTsystem. A non-limiting and non-exhaustive list of operative structuresmay include one or more of the following: a weather protecting system120 (e.g., shrouds, covers, etc.), a self-cleaning filter 122, astacking filter 124, a temperature control system 126 (e.g., heating orcooling coils), a humidity control system 128 (e.g., a fogger with anumber of water nozzles, or a dehumidifier), a monitoring system 130,and any variety of flow directing system 132 (e.g., vanes 134 at anupstream end 136 and/or diverter/transition 138 at a downstream end140). The operative structures provided and the sizes and shapes thereofmay vary based on a number of factors, such as, but not limited to: typeof application, size of application (e.g., size of GT system 104), andthe environment in which employed. Ancillary structures 148 (FIG. 8)like doors, access platforms/stairs and external supports/mountingfeatures, may also be part of components 150.

FIG. 4 shows a front schematic perspective view of inlet filter housing100, and FIG. 5 shows a rear schematic perspective view of inlet filterhousing 100, according to embodiments of the disclosure. As shown inFIGS. 4-5, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, inletfilter housing 100 may be segmented or compartmentalized duringfabrication into a plurality of components 150A-E that collectively forma complete filtering and conditioning system 102 (FIGS. 2-3) forfiltering and conditioning a fluid 142 along a housing flow path 144(FIG. 3 only). In the example in FIGS. 4 and 5, five components(compartments) 150A-E are shown. As will be further described, dependingon the size of inlet filter housing 100, it may be compartmentalizedwith more or fewer components 150.

In any event, each component 150 is configured to fit within an externalstructure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO) shippingcontainer 152, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure. ISOshipping container 152 may include any form of large standardizedintermodal container, designed and built for intermodal cargo transport.ISO shipping containers 152 are mainly used to transport cargoefficiently and securely in a global containerized intermodal freighttransport system. That is, ISO shipping containers 152 can be usedacross different modes of transport, e.g., from truck to rail to ship,without unloading and reloading the cargo contained therein. ISOshipping containers 152 come in various sizes, but each is configured toease transportation by standardizing container size, allowing them to bereadily handled by handling systems (e.g., cargo cranes) and stackedand/or otherwise secured within a transport mechanism (e.g., trucks,trains, ships, etc.). Illustrative standardized dimensions may be:heights of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 meters (m)) or 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m);widths of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) or 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m); andlengths of twenty or forty feet (6.1 or 12.2 m).

Rather than each ISO shipping container 152 including a complete filterand conditioning system 102, each component 150 includes operativestructure of at least one of: a) only a portion of an axial extent offiltering and conditioning system 102, and b) only a portion of alateral cross-sectional area of housing flow path 144. Housing flow path144 includes the lateral cross-section (height H and width W) of inletfilter housing 100. Components 150 are fabricated to include theoperative structure of: only a portion of an axial extent (part ofdistance from upstream end 136 to downstream end 140), and/or a portionof a cross-sectional area of housing flow path 144 (part of operativestructure in a partial height H and width W of housing flow path 144).

As shown in the example in FIGS. 4 and 5, where the ISO shippingcontainer 152 being used is 8 feet 6 inches by 8 feet 6 inches by twentyfeet, an illustrative component 150A may include all of the operativestructure that extends just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) downstreamfrom upstream end 136, just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m) acrossupstream end 136 from a left side thereof (facing upstream end 136, leftto right in FIG. 4) and just under twenty feet (6.1 m) in height. Moreparticularly, as shown best in FIG. 3, component 150A may includeupstream end 136, left side portions of: weather protecting system 120(e.g., shrouds, covers, etc.), vanes 134, and stacking filter 124. Inthis example, component 150A does not include any of, for example,temperature control system 126, humidity control system 128, andmonitoring system 130. Component 150A may also include portions of anouter enclosure 160 of inlet filter housing 100. In the example shown,component 150A includes part of a left side axial extent, a top sidecorner and a bottom side corner of outer enclosure 160.

In the example shown in FIGS. 3-5, component 150B may include all of theoperative structure that extends just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m)downstream from upstream end 136, just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m)across center of upstream end 136 (left to right in FIG. 4) and justunder twenty feet (6.1 m) in height. As shown best in FIG. 3, component150B may include upstream end 136 center portions of: weather protectingsystem 120, vanes 134, and stacking filter 124. In this example,component 150B does not include any of, for example, temperature controlsystem 126, humidity control system 128, and monitoring system 130.Component 150B may also include portions of outer enclosure 160 of inletfilter housing 100. In the example shown, component 150B includes topside center and a bottom side center of outer enclosure 160 at upstreamend 136.

In the example shown in FIGS. 3-5, component 150C may include all of theoperative structure that extends just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m)downstream from upstream end 136, just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m)from right side of upstream end 136 (FIG. 4) and just under twenty feet(6.1 m) in height. As shown best in FIG. 3, component 150C may includeupstream end 136, right side portions of: weather protecting system 120,vanes 134, and stacking filter 124. In this example, component 150C doesnot include any of, for example, temperature control system 126,humidity control system 128, and monitoring system 130. Component 150Cmay also include portions of outer enclosure 160 of inlet filter housing100. In the example shown, component 150C includes part of a right sideaxial extent, a top side corner and a bottom side corner of outerenclosure 160.

In the example shown in FIGS. 3-5, lengths of component 150D and 150Eextend laterally across inlet housing path 144 rather than vertically,like components 150A-C. Here components 150D, 150E both include axialextents of the operative structure that extends just under 8 feet 6inches (2.6 m) upstream from downstream end 140, and just under twentyfeet (6.1 m) across a width of housing flow path 144. Component 150Dincludes the operative structures that are just under 8 feet 6 inches(2.6 m) from a top side of housing flow path 144, and component 150Eincludes the operative structures just under 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m)from a bottom side of housing flow path 144. As shown best in FIG. 3,component 150D and 150E may include respective, upper and lower sideportions of: temperature control system 126, humidity control system128, monitoring system 130. In this example, components 150D and 150E donot include any of, for example, weather protecting system 120, vanes134, and stacking filter 124. Components 150D and 150E may also includeportions of outer enclosure 160 of inlet filter housing 100. In theexample shown, component 150D includes upper parts of the right and leftside axial extents and an entire width of a top side of outer enclosure160, and component 150E includes lower parts of the right and left sideaxial extents and an entire width of a bottom side of outer enclosure160.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective views for three components 150F,150G, 150H for compartmentalizing transition piece 138 at downstreamside 140. Here, three ISO shipping containers 152F, 152G, 152H may beemployed, which may be the same or different standardized dimensions asISO shipping containers 152A-C, e.g., depending on the size oftransition piece 138.

As noted, plurality of components 150 collectively define outerenclosure 160 of inlet filter housing 100 that defines housing flow path144. Consequently, each given component 150 of the plurality ofcomponents may define at most only a portion of outer enclosure 160. Asshown in FIGS. 4-5, certain components 150 may define a portion of outerenclosure 160. In FIGS. 4 and 5, components 150 include respectiveportions of outer enclosure 160, e.g., metal walls 162. Here, walls 162are within and spaced inwardly from a wall 164 of respective ISOshipping container 152.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7, walls 164 of ISO shippingcontainer(s) 152 of any component 150 may provide respective portions ofouter enclosure 160. In this case, for an illustrative component 150C(from FIG. 4), the component may include an enclosure mount 170 to whicha wall portion 172 of a respective ISO shipping container 152C isremovably coupled. In this manner, remaining wall portions 174 of ISOshipping container 152C may form part of outer enclosure 160 of inletfilter housing 100. In the example shown, remaining wall portions 174provide a portion of an axial extent, and right side upstream portionsof the top and bottom of outer enclosure 160. Removed wall portion(s)172 may be removed and re-used.

FIG. 8 shows an exploded perspective view of an inlet filter housing 100compartmentalized in a different manner than previous embodiments. Here,inlet filter housing 100 is compartmentalized into nine (9) components180A-I, according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Eachcomponent 180A-I may be segmented to fit into a respective ISO shippingcontainer 182A (shown only for one component). Here, each component 180extends an entire height H of inlet filter housing 100 and includesone-third (⅓) of a lateral width of the eventual housing flow pathcollectively formed by components 180A-I.

FIG. 8 also illustrates that, where necessary, one or more component(s),e.g., 150A-C, 180G-I, may include a support mount 186 to which atransportation support 188 may be removably coupled. Transportationsupports 188 may include any structural support member, e.g., an I-beam,that provides support to part of components 180 that may not supportthemselves at least during transport. For example, transportationsupports 188 may support operative structure such as pipes, filtermounts, etc., and/or portions of outer enclosure 160 (shown). Supportmounts 186 may include any now known or later developed structure towhich transportation supports 188 may be removably coupled, e.g., plateswith bolt holes or slots with which to couple transportation supports188. Support mounts 186 and/or transportation support 188 may be removedduring assembly of inlet filter housing 100 at the site of a powerplant, or they may remain as part of assembled inlet filter housing 100.While shown as vertically arranged, transportation supports 188 may beconfigured in any manner to support any desired part of components 150,180. It is noted that not all components 150, 180 may requiretransportation supports 188.

FIG. 9 shows an exploded schematic view of an inlet filter housing 100compartmentalized in a different manner than previous embodiments. Here,inlet filter housing 100 is compartmentalized into three (3) components194A-C, according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Eachcomponent 194A-C may be segmented to fit into a respective ISO shippingcontainer 196A-C (shown only for one component). Here, each component194 extends an entire width W and height H of inlet filter housing 100and includes one-third (⅓) of length L (axial) of the eventual housinginlet path collectively formed by components 194A-C.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show exploded, highly schematic views of otherarrangements of compartmentalized inlet filter housing 100. Any numberof components in any number of rows and/or columns may be employedaccording to embodiments of the disclosure.

Each component may include any necessary mechanisms for operativelycoupling the component to one or more adjacent components. For example,for a humidity control system 128 that injects water into fluid flow142, pipe couplings 190 (FIG. 8) may be used to couple pipes withinadjacent components. In another example shown in FIG. 8, any necessaryseals 192, e.g., for portions of outer enclosure 160 in adjacentcomponents, may be provided with one or more components. In anotherexample, additional wiring lengths, e.g., wires and/or conduit, may beprovided in selected components for coupling to wiring in an adjacentcomponent. The assembled inlet filter housing 100 may thus include thenecessary mechanisms to operatively couple adjacent components alongjoining areas of the adjacent components that would not normally bepresent in a conventional inlet filter housing.

A method of forming inlet filter housing 100 according to embodiments ofthe disclosure may include fabricating a plurality of components thatcollectively form a complete filtering and conditioning system 102 forfiltering and conditioning a fluid 142 along a housing flow path 144. Asnoted, each component (e.g., 150, 180, 194) is configured to fit withinan external structure of ISO shipping container (e.g., 152, 182, 196)which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure. Each component includesoperative structure of at least one of: a) only a portion of an axialextent of filtering and conditioning system 102, and b) only a portionof a lateral cross-sectional area of housing flow path 144.

The components may be transported to a power plant site and may beassembled at the power plant site to form the complete filtering andconditioning system 102 (FIG. 3) for filtering and conditioning fluid142 along housing flow path 144. Prior to the assembling, a portion of arespective ISO shipping container 152, 182 may be removed from enclosuremount 170 (FIG. 7) on a respective component 150, 180 to which theportion of a respective ISO shipping container 152, 182 is coupled. Asshown in FIG. 8, as necessary, component(s) 180 may include supportmount(s) 186 to which transportation support 188 is removably coupled.Transportation support(s) 188 may be removed prior to the assembling ofcomponents 180. As noted, the plurality of components collectivelydefines outer enclosure 160 of inlet filter housing 100 that defineshousing flow path 144 (FIG. 4). ISO shipping container 152, 182, 196 ofeach component 150, 180, 194, respectively, defines at most only aportion of outer enclosure 160. As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the assemblingalso includes coupling the complete inlet filter housing 100 to powergeneration equipment such as GT system 104.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an inlet filter housing includinga plurality of components that collectively form a complete filteringand conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluid along ahousing flow path. The components can be transported in ISO shippingcontainers, reducing the number of shipments and consequently the costsand complexity of transport. The reduced number of parts that must beconnected together to assemble inlet filter housing 100 saves time andmoney. In addition, the shipping container can define portions of theouter enclosure of the inlet filter housing (i.e., with no interiorwalls remaining from the shipping containers segmenting the housing flowpath) that eases the time of assembly. In some cases, the assembly timeof inlet filter housing 100 can be reduced by greater than 800 hours. Incontrast to conventional systems, the components are assembled to createa single inlet filter housing with a single flow path therethrough.Consequently, conventional control systems may still be employed. Thepre-fabrication at a manufacturing site also allows for increasedquality control with less reliability on on-site labor and overallreduces production costs.

Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification andclaims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation thatcould permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basicfunction to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a termor terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are notto be limited to the precise value specified. In at least someinstances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision ofan instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout thespecification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/orinterchanged; such ranges are identified and include all the sub-rangescontained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise.“Approximately,” as applied to a particular value of a range, applies toboth end values and, unless otherwise dependent on the precision of theinstrument measuring the value, may indicate +/−10% of the statedvalue(s).

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inlet filter housing, comprising: a pluralityof components that collectively form a complete filtering andconditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluid along ahousing flow path, wherein each component is fitted within an externalstructure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO) shippingcontainer, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure; wherein eachcomponent includes operative structure of at least one of: a) only aportion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioning system, andb) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of the housing flowpath.
 2. The inlet filter housing of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofcomponents collectively define an outer enclosure of the inlet filterhousing that defines the housing flow path, and the respective ISOshipping container of each component of the plurality of componentsdefines at most only a portion of the outer enclosure.
 3. The inletfilter housing of claim 2, wherein each component includes an enclosuremount to which a portion of a respective ISO shipping container isremovably coupled.
 4. The inlet filter housing of claim 1, wherein atleast one component of the plurality of components includes a supportmount to which a transportation support is removably coupled.
 5. Theinlet filter housing of claim 1, wherein the fluid is air.
 6. The inletfilter housing of claim 1, wherein the fluid flow is directed from anoutlet of the inlet filter housing to power generation equipment.
 7. Theinlet filter housing of claim 1, wherein the operative structure isselected from at least one of: a weather protecting system, aself-cleaning filter, a stacking filter, a temperature control system, ahumidity control system, a monitoring system, and a flow directingsystem.
 8. A gas turbine (GT) system, comprising: a turbine section; acombustor operatively coupled to the turbine section; a compressoroperatively coupled to the combustor; and an inlet filter housingoperatively coupled to the compressor, the inlet filter housingincluding: a plurality of components that collectively form a completefiltering and conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluidalong a housing flow path, wherein each component is fitted within anexternal structure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO)shipping container, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure;wherein each component includes operative structure of at least one of:a) only a portion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioningsystem, and b) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of thehousing flow path.
 9. The GT system of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofcomponents collectively define an outer enclosure of the inlet filterhousing that defines the housing flow path, and the respective ISOshipping container of each component of the plurality of componentsdefines at most only a portion of the outer enclosure.
 10. The GT systemof claim 9, wherein each component includes an enclosure mount to whicha portion of a respective ISO shipping container is removably coupled.11. The GT system of claim 8, wherein at least one component of theplurality of components includes a support mount to which atransportation support is removably coupled.
 12. The GT system of claim8, wherein the fluid is air.
 13. The GT system of claim 8, wherein thefluid flow is directed from an outlet of the inlet filter housing to thecompressor.
 14. The GT system of claim 8, wherein the operativestructure is selected from at least one of: a weather protecting system,a self-cleaning filter, a stacking filter, a temperature control system,a humidity control system, a monitoring system, and a flow directingsystem.
 15. A method of forming an inlet filter housing, comprising:fabricating a plurality of components that collectively form a completefiltering and conditioning system for filtering and conditioning a fluidalong a housing flow path, wherein each component is fitted within anexternal structure of an International Organization of Standards (ISO)shipping container, which provides a rectangular cuboid enclosure;wherein each component includes operative structure of at least one of:a) only a portion of an axial extent of the filtering and conditioningsystem, and b) only a portion of a lateral cross-sectional area of thehousing flow path; transporting the plurality of components to a powerplant site; and assembling the plurality of components at the powerplant site to form the complete filtering and conditioning system forfiltering and conditioning the fluid along the housing flow path. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of components collectivelydefine an outer enclosure of the inlet filter housing that defines thehousing flow path, and the respective ISO shipping container of eachcomponent of the plurality of components defines at most only a portionof the outer enclosure.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising,prior to the assembling, removing a portion of a respective ISO shippingcontainer from an enclosure mount on a respective component to which theportion of a respective ISO shipping container is coupled.
 18. Themethod of claim 15, wherein at least one component of the plurality ofcomponents includes a support mount to which a transportation support isremovably coupled, and further comprising removing the transportationsupport prior to the assembling.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein thefluid is air.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the assemblingincludes coupling the complete filtering and conditioning system to agas turbine system.